"Zahahaha! Then I'll choose Beehive Island to establish my new kingdom!"
Smuggler Ganzi, clad in golden armor, shouted excitedly. He was going to take a gamble—betting that the gold mines on Hachinosu were vast.
Ideally, it would have as much gold as Fang Huo's golden capital, Shandora!
Of course, if he lost the bet and Hachinosu remained barren, he would just have to find a way to switch to another island.
Moreover, to conquer Hachinosu, which was filled with exiled criminals from all over the world, he couldn't do it alone.
He would still have to rely on the combat power of the Rocks Pirates.
When the time came, a large portion of Hachinosu's profits would have to be handed over to the Rocks Pirates to become the crew's collective revenue before being redistributed.
"My Cake Island already has the prototype for Totto Land!"
"I want the islands surrounding Cake Island as well!"
Charlotte Linlin's eyes were filled with ambition. Her Totto Land couldn't consist of just one island; she wanted to conquer a vast territory!
As a King-tier Cadre of the Rocks Pirates, she naturally demanded more power than Ganzi.
A single island could never satisfy her!
Her ambition was far greater than Ganzi's.
Ganzi actually only wanted to be the king of a single island.
Small! His vision was too small!
"Jiehahaha! Rocks, are you going to establish the Rocks Empire on Hachinosu?"
"If you don't want Hachinosu, then I'll take it!"
"If you do want it, then I'll find another island. I'm going to establish a Flying Kingdom!"
Golden Lion Shiki grinned and laughed. It was rare for Rocks to let everyone go out and establish their own divisions and nations; he was definitely going to take this chance to build his own exclusive force.
Of course, it was currently impossible to quit the Rocks Pirates!
But if Rocks were ever gone, these King-tier Cadres would surely declare independence one after another.
"Sphinx Island is my territory. Forget being a king; I'll just be the protector and lord of that island."
Whitebeard Newgate spoke calmly. To be honest, he definitely wouldn't sit around on an island; he would stay on the Sword of Xebec.
"I'll handle Wano Country along with Shimotsuki Furiko."
"Stussy will be responsible for Wano Country and some islands near Elbaf."
Fang Huo smiled gently. He intended to personally take Wano Country and Egghead Island.
Whether it was Wano's Sea Stone mines or the Haoshoku Knot on the ancient robot on Egghead, he wanted them under his personal control.
That Haoshoku Knot was the life-saving divine gear Joy Boy gave to the robot emitt.
This was Fang Huo's ultimate trump card for participating in the Human Clearing Contest on Red Soil Island!
In case Imu really deployed the Gorosei or the Celestial Dragons Knights to a different location, this would be the only means to counter Imu.
The current Rocks was simply no match for Imu.
Better safe than sorry!
This trump card had to be secured!
After Fang Huo sowed discord between Saint Mars and Satan Saint, he had been searching for and monitoring Egghead Island, keeping an eye on the World Government's fleet.
He would never allow Satan Saint to quietly transport the robot emitt away again.
Now that Satan Saint was facing a slight crisis of trust in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, he had no chance to leave the Holy Land alone to handle his business in the lower world.
He didn't trust the other Gorosei or the Celestial Dragons Knights either, so the matter of the robot emitt had remained unaddressed.
He believed no one knew he had hidden that ancient robot on the ruin-like Egghead Island.
Besides, it was just a robot without a power source.
Not a big deal!
Even if someone found it, it would be nothing more than a pile of scrap metal.
Like the National Treasure Uranus, that ancient robot's energy had been depleted, and it had lost its combat capability.
Currently, the Science Defense Force managed by Satan Saint was constantly researching new energy sources.
However, there had been no progress.
Meanwhile, on Karakuri Island, Barjimoa, the 14-year-old Vegapunk had already begun modifying the island's beasts, turning them into cyborgs to increase the island's labor and defense forces.
Unfortunately, Barjimoa was a Winter Island with freezing weather and scarce resources.
Vegapunk had always wanted to transform his hometown from a Winter Island into a warm Spring Island.
He wanted to research a steady stream of powerful new energy to drive a Climate-Altering Machine.
But his current knowledge was insufficient; he hadn't yet obtained the Paramecia Type Brain-Brain Fruit, nor did he have enough funds for research.
His inventions and fame were still limited to Karakuri Island.
---
Returning to the Elbaf Underworld.
The Cadres of the Rocks Pirates began carving up territories in the New World, treating the New World as their own backyard.
Rocks finally decided to establish his Rocks Empire on his first territory, Hachinosu.
After all, this island was now the most prosperous in the New World.
He was unwilling to give it to Golden Lion Shiki.
Golden Lion Shiki had to find his own island to establish his Flying Kingdom and Flying Fleet.
Meanwhile, Barbel, Sanbel, Kiel Bastard, and Maron all followed Fang Huo, intending to pick an island near Fang Huo's territory to call their own.
Bolo Gram picked an island near Sphinx Island to keep Whitebeard Newgate company.
They had almost claimed all the valuable territories in the latter half of the New World.
Fūgetsu Kisaburō and Shimotsuki Kōzaburō were both willing to assist Shimotsuki Furiko in guarding Wano Country.
If it was the trend of the times, they would have to accept the outcome of the Shimotsuki Gu Yue replacing the Kozuki Family.
As two men who had gone out to sea for adventure, Wano Country's isolationist policy indeed did not align with their views.
Furthermore, Fang Huo actually wanted Shimotsuki Furiko to become the female Shogun of Wano, which shocked Kisaburō and Kōzaburō immensely.
If possible, they also wanted to be like King Harald, leading their country to interact and establish diplomatic relations with the outside world.
Just as Fang Huo said, the Kozuki Family had declined and was powerless to lead Wano Country.
If Fang Huo and Miss Furiko could lead Wano to become strong, they were willing to commit 'gekokujo' and ask the Kozuki Family to step down in favor of someone more capable.
Fang Huo eventually helped Fūgetsu Kisaburō designate a Wano-style island called Kura Island.
This was the island where the Mythical Zoan Nue Fruit would appear in the future.
If Shimotsuki Kōzaburō wanted to be a Daimyo or Shogun, Fang Huo could likewise give him an island to establish Shimotsuki Island.
---
Redfield had already negotiated with Golden Lion Shiki multiple times, hoping to ask Shiki for help in moving Red Soil Island to the New World in the future.
Only then could they ensure that Red Soil Island would no longer be harmed by the World Government and the Celestial Dragons.
For this, Golden Lion Shiki demanded a steep price, causing Redfield to owe him a massive favor and a significant amount of treasure.
Harald didn't know that the cold shoulder he gave would actually give rise to a massive New World Kingdom Alliance.
As the strength of the Rocks Pirates' Cadres reached a bottleneck,
Rocks decided to leave Elbaf and launch their grand 'One Nation, One Division' plan.
Charlotte Linlin also celebrated her 17th birthday, and her dream of Totto Land finally officially set sail.
Fang Huo wanted to take the nearby Egghead Island first and establish a nation there.
So that his offspring would be born as princes and princesses.
That ancient robot emitt and Joy Boy's Haoshoku Knot were his nation-founding gift pack.